Food: Aussie Bite, first attempt

I am a supporter of homemade goods. If I can make it at the skill that I need then I will. Homemade chalk bag, homemade purses, patching clothes, homemade blankets, homemade moccasins; you get the idea. So I am going to make as much of my food from scratch as possible. This morning that meant making my first batch of Aussie bites. Sure, you can buy these calorie packed snacks in bulk at Costco, but at home I can control the flavor and the ingredients.
Recipe I loosely used. Loosely because they seemed too dry so I added 3 tbs of milk. Next time I am going to try adding some coconut milk and use coconut oil and butter (1/2 and 1/2) instead of just butter. I just guessed how much coconut to put in because we don't have cans of dried coconut and I don't have anything to measure oz accurately. I think I put in about 1/3 of a cup. For dried fruit I put in cranberries and raisins. It's what I had in the cabinet.
The results? They turned out rather well.  A little crumbly but rather delicious. I think they make my stomach a bit sore though. I will have to confirm this later.

Food: Well actually water.

This week Obama went to SoCal and asked for aid to farmers during the drought. My parents recently hiked part of the PCT around Agua Dulce and notified me that it is brutally dry. My plan of attack is to leave for the trail 3 weeks earlier than I had originally planned (that's why I'm working 52 hours a week now, make up for lost cash) and carry more water than I had originally planned and in smaller containers.
I don't want to have something burst on me and then loose 2-3L of a vital resource. I'm carrying several 1L water bladders and containers. I'm thinking 7L as my max capacity. I have a Sawyer squeeze and Aqua Mira as my water purification, but for the first 700 or so miles I'm thinking of carrying my Katadyn hiker filter for those extra scummy and small water sources. I'm still debating this shift. It might not be worth the weight, or it might make my life so much easier.
Most of my dinners that I am planning require water. Some more than others. I am not usually an obsessive planner, I have enough experience to know nothing ever goes according to obsessive plans, but I must admit I'm being a bit OCD about water. I'm going the PCT Water Report and adding each reliable source into my resupply excel sheet. I'm creating ETA's for each water source so I know which days I will have less water. I am doing this not only to get comfortable with my water sources, but also to know what type of food to send myself for that leg of the journey. A little crazy? Probably. Useful? We will see I guess. Only one way to find out.

Food: Bars

Bars are such a staple in any backpack on the trail. People make them homemade, buy a bunch, or feel queazy after eating a protein bar (or is that just me?) I have never ventured into making them homemade, but think I will give it a try. I'll let you know the updates. Most people don't have to send themselves this kind of food, but I have found that I do. It's really hard to find bars without nuts in them. 

There are two cliff bars I can eat. That's only because my allergy isn't so sensitive so I can eat things that say may contain once and a while. That said, it's only two bars; chocolate chip and chocolate brownie. They get real boring real fast although I will still carry some and I do like them. I can also probably find these in stores along the way so no need to buy them now.

I have been shopping around for good nut-free options and they are mostly very expensive. Anita at Avalanche Bars was nice enough to give me some samples which I ate on my gear trial backpacking trip over my birthday weekend. These bars are a bit dry but much tastier than a Cliff bar; less sweet and more savory. They are my style with flax seeds and oats and sunflower butter and honey in each bar (sounds like my breakfast this morning). The Cranberry Pineapple is my favorite, with the chocolate cherry a close second. Maybe I like them so much because they taste nutty so I almost feel like I'm cheating. They are also nut free (no 'may contain' labeling) so I can eat as many as I want (there are six flavors so it will take me longer to get tired of them). If you can sense my excitement it's because it has been hard to find a bar that tastes good, doesn't hurt my stomach, is nut free, and isn't as hard as a rock.

For a cheaper option, Quaker now makes nut free chewy bars. So I will have some of those sprinkled in too. But honestly I get sick of these super fast. It goes back to what I said about super sweet things; I just don't crave them. I'll eat them for calories.

No Nuttin' Granola bars are free of gluten, dairy, all other major allergens. They are sweet and hard. I might buy a box just to have one here and there, but this won't become a staple.

EnerPro make two chewy nut free protein bars, but they are double chocolate and chocolate chip so very similar to the majority of other bars I can eat. I will buy some of these too, but make sure to pair them with Avalanche Bars so I can have a sweet and then a savory bar.

Candice Foods makes a variety of granola bars but I haven't gotten up the courage to actually buy one. They are very expensive ($3 each) and when I asked if I could have some free samples I never got a reply. It would just be nice to know that I like them before I spend $25 on six bars...I probably just won't and leave these off the resupply bandwagon.

Well, that's about it. Doesn't a apply to many but I can't be the only one with a nut allergy into backpacking right? If anyone has any advice or experience with nut-free bars I would love to hear it...please.

 

Food; Taking a Note from the Mission to Mars

When they were doing tests for the mission to Mars teams, they found out that the only way people could withstand having the same food for that long of a trip wasn't having a variety of packaged food. It was by having ingredients on hand that they could prepare into meals themselves. It seems like such a simple idea, but being in control of you diet is key to long term happiness both on a space ship and on the trail. I'm not saying I will be making all my meals, but rather I will have a bunch of fast, pre made food and a bunch of ingredients so I can make whatever I'm craving.
Last night there was an ice storm and it is snowing outside and I don't work today. So it seemed like a good day to sit back and order some food.
In the freezer dried category I bought spinach, broccolli, raspberries, strawberries, peas, and asparagus.
In the dried category I bought Genmai Miso, wild blueberries, wild mixed berries, cranberries, montmorency tart cherries, apricots, mangos, peaches, pineapple rings and shallots.
In the seed category I bought roasted pumpkin seeds and soy nuts.
In the grain category I bought puffed quinoa.
Along with some spices, sun dried tomatoes, oatmeal, couscous, instant rice, meat and some other essentials I think this will make for some pretty good feasting. I obviously love fruit. I eat so much of it on the trail that I know buying it in somewhat bulk (not 10lbs or anything) will save me money in the end. Plus I can afford mostly organic if I buy online.
I'm planning on making all my breakfasts and dinners on the trail from my mail drops and resupplying most of my snacks from local stores in towns. This way I won't get tired of any one snack and I get to support local business without giving up my veggie and fruit intense diet.
It's fun to be at this stage of planning. I'm getting permits and ordering food so I can start making my mail drop boxes. The day is fast approaching...
I want to also share a treat I have been eating to gain weight before the trail.

Honey Soynut butter spread on top of my aunt's homemade chocolate chip cookies. If this doesn't make my body happy, I'm just not sure what will.

February Food Focus

I want to start looking at some food options for the trail. This month I hope to try out some new recipes or even just figure out which snacks I like for trail fuel.

I think it's important to start the conversation with a little preference background. I eat healthfully. I like organic, I am a meat eater and an avacado and egg sandwich is my favorite breakfast. I love veggies and all things green. My food life would be meaningless without kale and I have a hard time liking super sweet foods.

I also have a very fast metabolism. Instead of trying to loose weight for the trail I am trying to gain about 10-15lbs. I've been given crap for this my whole life, how I'm so lucky I don't have to worry about weight, but unfortunately that just isn't true. I have to worry about getting too thin. I will have to fight it the whole time I'm on the trail and will have to carry double the food. Especially for a women, you really can't let yourself get below a certain weight. I know it's not a super common problem, but it is a concern of mine.

Calorie dense, a mix of healthy and unhealthy, and a lot of variety is what I am looking for in trail food. Also...I'm allergic to nuts. All of them. So trail snacks are a bit harder to come by.

I'm also going to carry a stove, so my meals will be a mix of cold and hot. 

Alright cool, let's eat.

The End is Nigh!

maps k, l

I think if I were looking for a vacation and I came across a place called Glacier Peak Wilderness, I would have heavenly dreams until I arrived. What could be better than alpine lakes, glaciers, and rock? I'm unsure. Reading the description on wilderness.net made me sentimental for my exploring days in CO; "bodies of water include more than 200 lakes, many unnamed and tremendously difficult to access, in various cirques and hidden basins." It is also a climbers haven. I might just stay here for a bit hoping to meet up with a buddy of mine who may be climbing in the area.

North Cascades National Park is glacier after glacier; 318 or so actually. All beautiful but also it will be sad. These landscapes are disappearing quickly, but that makes me all the more anxious to enjoy them while I can. here

Okanogan National Forest is the second largest NF that is completely in one county after Nez Perce National Forest in Idaho. The western side of the forest is wetter than the dry eastern side. The majority of the forested area is Lodgepole pines.

Hiking through WA we get to Cananda. Into that place we have all heard of, Manning Park. The park is named after Ernest Callaway Manning, Chief Forester from the 1930s to 41 when he died in a plane crash. He was apparently inspirational in encouraging British Columbians to set aside land for the enjoyment of future generations. I say apparently because I have not done much research on figuring out whether that statement is true. Manning park has a resort that is heavily trafficked by visitors world wide. Here is a history of manning park if you are interested.

Rock Climbing:
SO this is all the climbing we will pass in WA on the PCT.
Bridge of the Gods Boulders I hope to be better at bouldering by this point because the easiest problems are V4 and up to V12. Stretch Arm is a V5 problem there that looks so much fun.
Mount Adams will probably be added to my side trips.
Tieton River there is a 5.10 route there named the Saint of Circumstance that looks like a fun, hover hung crux.
Snoqualmie Pass has a few routes that I can go without rope so that seems fun.
There is a 5.8 traverse on Guye Peak.
That's all for now folks! More gear talk to be had in a bit.

Washington State! Active volcanos and all.

I've been working extra hours and training for the trail so I have been running short on time to write. This trend will probably continue so today and tomorrow, I'm finishing up my trail summary. I feel bad for Washington because this always happens to it. CA and OR are written about with love a detail and then WA gets the "I can't believe I'm almost done"/ "snow!" treatment. I'm about to give it the short end of the stick once again. I'll try to treat the trail like a good book and never think about the end until it has arrived, but for now, because of time management issues, I will have to write quickly about a walk through the state.

maps h, i, j

By the time we pass over the Bridge of the Gods, we are in WA.
The Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area (CRGNSA) is the 24,000 acres around the Columbia River. The River is the second largest in North America, starting in Idaho and ending at the Pacific. The gorge is 4,000 feet deep at it's lowest point and includes the second largest waterfall in the world, Multnomah Falls.

Gifford Pinchot National Forest is nothing short of epic. It has Mt Adams, Mt St. Helens, Goat Rocks Wilderness, and huckleberries (yum). We will walk through patches of Gifford Pinchot that are apart of the Wind River Experimental Forest. These lands have been studied since 1909 when Thorton T. Munger set up an arboretum.

On the PCT we walk the entire Indian Heaven Wilderness from north to south, just over 16 miles. In the north there is a section named the Sawtooth Berry Flats where native americans collected huckleberries. To this day there is a section which is designated for the use of local tribes. Check out the Huckleberry Legend from the Yakima tribe. The summary is the Huckleberries are the plants that grew from the bloody eyes of the creator.

Goat Rocks Wilderness is spectacular. Not only do I love goats, but I love rough and rocky areas. This place looks heavenly. (photo) Jagged and lovely, can't wait to skit the sides of this range.

Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest is huge. It extends a 140 miles from the Canada down to Mt, Rainer National Forest. Outside of Alaska, it has the most glaciers of any national forest. We pass through Alpine Lakes Wilderness, which is mostly in Wenatchee National Forest. It has 700 mountain lakes and craggy peaks and ridges.